Yelawolf

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Rappers who make their names on mix-tapes and guest spots, then sign big deals, tend to bring out all new material on their “real” albums. White Alabama MC Yelawolf is doing things a little differently: Nearly half of the 12 songs on his strong Trunk Muzik mix-tape, which has floated around online since January, are reprised on his major-label debut. Good—mix-tape cuts like the playful “Box Chevy” (he “want[s] to see the back of your jeans” in his car) and the menacing “Pop The Trunk” are booming, ingratiating tracks with Yela (born Michael Wayne Atha) sounding clear-headed and ready for the spotlight. The new material generally fits with the older stuff with ease. The spare “That’s What We On Now” combines whapping, tinny snare, and infrequent infra-glowing bass drops, but Yela assures, “When the sticks meet the bricks / We’ll see all of my people up in that bitch.” The big exception is “Marijuana,” a “rock” song that takes after all the wrong parts of the Lil Wayne catalog.